About

NeuroPain | Nociception and pain

The NeuroPain research axis aims to decipher the complexity of pain and to develop new treatments according to three levels of study

• understanding the biology and circuits of pain
• understanding the comorbidities associated with pain
• improving pain treatments

NeuroTime | Time in perception and action

The NeuroTime axis studies the fundamental mechanisms of this temporal organisation in the nervous system and the pathological consequences of its disorganisation in order to develop innovative therapies:

• study of the functional organisation of the nervous system from the millisecond to the year
• study of temporal disorganisation of the nervous system
• therapeutic approaches for the temporal reorganisation of the nervous system

NeuroDegen | Neurodegenerative and Neurogenetic Diseases

NeuroDegen laboratories have a long-standing expertise and documented track record in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal lobe dementia, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, as well as rare genetic diseases such as ciliopathies, lysosomal storage disorders, and DNA repair diseases. Understanding the contribution of risk factors such as ageing, genetic variants and environmental conditions is a hallmark of the research made in our laboratories.

Neurocomputation

The NeuroStra neurocomputation community, creator of the summer school “Advanced Tools for Data Analysis in Neuroscience”, is integrated with the experimental teams of LNCA and INCI, as well as the translational researchers of IMIS. It leads two groups: CompNeuroStra, dedicated to multi-scale and multi-system computational modeling, and DyCom, focused on translational applications in neurology and neuropsychology of concepts derived from neurophysics, in connection with the PEPR Digital Health “Brain Health Trajectory”. Several members, formerly from the Bernstein Center Freiburg, foster exchanges and strategic convergence with this laboratory, thereby strengthening the link between theoretical, experimental, and translational research in computational neuroscience.

Neuroepigenetics

Neuroepigenetics is an emerging field that encompasses current concepts and knowledge about the nature and functions of the epigenome in the nervous system, its modes of regulation, and its link to brain health and disease. NeuroStra brings together four teams trained in omics approaches combined with high-throughput sequencing to study neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia), psychiatric disorders and addiction (opioids), their molecular bases, progression, risk factors, and the development of new therapeutic options.

Translation from animal to human

Mental health — encompassing psychiatry, addiction, dementia, and pain-related depression — is a major public health challenge, further exacerbated by pandemics. NeuroStra’s animal-to-human translation axis draws on the expertise of the CRBS, IMIS, LNCA, INCI, and CIRCSom teams to better characterize human phenotypes, particularly those that are difficult to model in animals (such as hallucinations and self-perception disorders). The goal is to identify physiological markers, such as alterations in brain connectivity, in order to develop early tests adapted to animal models. This approach aims to foster the development of innovative therapies and early diagnostic tools to improve prevention and treatment.

The NeuroStra neuroscience community offers a Master-to-PhD training track in the style of a graduate school, designed to prepare students for research careers. This program provides specialization in the local research areas of excellence, while fostering international exposure and interdisciplinarity.

Our training programs are administered by the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Faculty of Psychology, as well as the Doctoral School of Life and Health.

Neuroscience in the Upper Rhine Valley

NeuroStra is affiliated with the European neuroscience research network Neurex, which brings together 110 laboratories and more than 1,000 researchers from the Universities of Strasbourg (France), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland).